Lou
I wanted to be with my family and if this was it?
I wasn't going to go out sad.
I had been around real gintsa's in my life, the kind that could make your skin crawl - courtesy of my brothers- so one like this? Well, he felt animated, like a character out of a cartoon. I was never going to take a gangster who wore a suit at 3 AM seriously. The limitations of dressing like that alone, already indicated to me the most important thing I needed to know- you're not about that action. The man could barely wrap his grubby fingers around my neck correctly - another thing that I knew how to escape. Growing up with brothers means that you're perpetually cast as an involuntary WWE star in various unsuitable environments; your bedroom, the lounge, the kitchen - you name it. I had been an unpaid, involuntary world-class entertainer. I had learnt how to defend myself later, more seriously before...well before everything went wrong.
Like how it might right now.
Despite Silvio's comical nature, I knew that I was in danger. The man had arrived with almost seventy men. I'm not slow, I knew I was wading into troubled waters but I had also strategically hedged my bets. Uncle Ern had elaborated to me, at great lengths, about his son's failings most of which could be explained by and encapsulated in two words- trigger-happy. Not literally, judging by the throng of men surrounding me, he left the... uh... bodily harm to other people but he was rash. It was a quality I was counting on, and he didn't disappoint. I had goaded him into telling me that he was in the mob - volleying responsibility about me knowing that information back onto him; in front of everyone. It was an exceptionally high-risk insurance policy. If he moved against me, in front of everyone, he would have to own up to the fact that I had bested him. A woman had made him look weak. I had provoked him into violating their covenant...one I hoped existed outside of the Godfather in any case. I wasn't a wife. I wasn't supposed to know what he had now openly confessed.
"Do you know who I am?!" he was yelling now, at the very top of his lungs.
"No, I don't... well kind of, but that's neither here nor there. According to this guy," I pointed at the guy to the left of him "You're the boss. Of what? I don't know and can't say. What I do know is that people with power, real power, almost never have to ask a question like that out loud."
"I have enough power to kill you," he whispered, his face now red enough to rival the ripe cranberries I wanted to use in a new recipe.
"Please go ahead, do it yourself if you're feeling brave but as I've requested - outside. Your people have already messed up this apartment enough." There was a cough to the left of me and I stole a glance through the crowd at Dante and watched his eyes dance in my direction. He looked pleased, thrilled even, but for the life of me, I couldn't understand why.
"I'm going to fucking kill you." Silvio said it with finality but made no move towards me.
"Yes, you've said that already, but here I stand. Go ahead. Dala wat jy moet." I gestured down the length of my body. I didn't know him but I don't think he usually killed people himself but if he was going to threaten me - he was going to do it himself. I wanted him to, this night (and the last three years of my life) had been more than enough for me. I was tired in the marrow of my bones, infected by a grief so potent it made me feel brittle. I couldn't say for sure why I was pushing so hard to meet my death but I knew that had something to do with it. That, and the fact that I would never let a man feel like he had power over me - especially a weak one like this.
YOU ARE READING
Love's Inferno
RomanceIn the bustling heart of London, Dante Sanseverino is a man torn between loyalty and his conscience. With the demands of The Outfit's London division squarely placed on his shoulders, he tries to keep complications in his personal life at a minimal...